Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Served from bottle into a mug. Poured yellow-orange with a one and a half finger off-white head that subsided to one finger very slowly. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, pine, citrus, pine resin, spices, and subtle fruit. The flavor was of sweet malt, citrus, spices, pine, pine hop, citrus hop, and subtle wheat. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a pretty good brew. This brew definitely took on both the characteristics of a rye beer and an IPA. It was quite enjoyable and fairly easy to drink. A definite must try if you are a fan of hoppy and spicy brews.

Fresh bottle from the Pizza Port bottle store. Hoppy aroma. Copper body with three-eighths of an inch of retained white head. An ale with rye that hits the spot. Lacy, fresh, session-able, citrus, pepper, fruit and lots of rye. A good hoppiness and edgy. Good drinkability.

O: Overall a very solid beer. I really enjoy Rye beers and definitely enjoyed this one. I definitely like the flavor profile of this beer, and how it encompassed the hops and malts very nicely. This beer was another great beer from Sierra Nevada.

Figured I'd do the two Rye Beers back-to-back. Couldn't be bothered figuring out the Julian date code. Thanks to Chris (spycow) for mixing a sixer of oddball wants for me. Served in a Cigar City snifter.

A - A half-finger of yellow-tinged foam settles to a thin cap. Looks very similar to the Widmer's O'Ryely, but with a bit more in the way of lacing.

12 oz bottle, packaged on Dec. 30th if I'm reading the date code correctly. The pour doesn't yield much of a head, but there is some lasting soapy froth. Dark copper, almost amber in color with high clarity. The smell of signature Sierra Nevada hops are apparent, much like the orignal Pale Ale itself. Sharp, piney notes from the hops are well paired with a grainy, rye cracker character.

The key to the flavor here is good balance. The hops are not over the top, and the bitterness is at a good solid level, building after the finish. This is not a sweet IPA. The rye malt is lightly-dry, with a peppery, biscuity taste, and only touches of fruit in the far background. I like that the alcohol is not even a factor here, and the drinkability is through the roof. The mouthfeel is crisp with a rather zesty carbonation. Not too heavy or too light in body.

This is a top notch ale from a brewery that never lets you down. I'm just wondering, what if this was a hard to find, special release? If Three Floyds was the name on it I bet the rating would be sky high. Just imagine if your local brewery did something like this. You would be pretty amazed. But this is par for the course for Sierra Nevada and I suppose most folks will just think it's decent. As for me, I'm going to drink alot of this while it's available...

Read about this beer at the end of last year (2011) and have been anticipating its release ever since. I was shocked to see the price on these - $14.99 at Vons for a twelver and $7.99 a sixer at most super markets and liquor stores (damn cheap).

A: Got into these at a buddies pad during the AFC championship game - just crushing em from the bottle, so I can't really give an accurate grade on appearance. I just averaged the score based on the other aspects of this brew.

T: Taste is hoppy as the nose insinuated - grassy citrus rinds with that classic malt character that Sierra so consistently replicates with each of their brews - toasted grain and sweet carmel nougat round this one out nicely.

M: Medium bodied, appropriate carbonation for the style that lends a creamy aspect to the overall body, hop oils linger a while with an enjoyable bitterness after each sip.

Overall very tasty and extremely sessionable for a beer nearing the 7% mark. The rye is slightly less noticeable than say Nelson IPA (Alpine Brewing) or Reef Rye (Ballast Point), but still there and tasty, pushing this IPA into a different class than a standard West Coast IPA. Definitely something different yet still carrying that signature flavor that makes Sierra Nevada one of the most consistently quality produced ales in the game.

S: The sharp and quick cutting rye malt character comes through in the initial whiff as does the hop aroma. The hop characteristics include a mix between "piney" and "musky" smells, and seems to be more subtle than other Sierra Nevada IPA's I've had in the past. Not sure if this can be attributed to how distinct rye flavor and aroma can be, but I believe this may be a main culprit.

T: The rye immediately highlights and heightens the hop bitterness. There is some malt sweetness to balance off the abundance of hop flavor and bitterness, but not enough to say this is a "well-balanced" IPA.

M: Standard; what I have come to expect from a solid IPA.

O: Rye IPA's are usually a hit or miss with me. With that said, this hits me right in the middle. Nothing too bold, but does deliver some distinct flavors not commonly found in hoppy beers (which I like). A try it beer. Cheers!

Served on tap and into a pint glass.Apperance-amber color, medium carbonation, 2 finger head.Smell-notes of bread, pine, spice, citrus.Taste-hit with the rye first, bread and spice, pepper, almost tasted like really good rye toast, then a nice hop finish a mixture of more pine than citrus but both present.Mouthfeel-nice, slightly spicy with the rye.Overall-whenever a rye beer is on a beer list, I gravitate towards it, I like this beer and will seek it out again, real drinability, with the quality I have come to expect from a SN, very simalar to their pale ale but with the rye flavor coming through.

Before anything else is said, I'd just like to comment on how phenomenal the label design is. Bravo to Sierra Nevada for commissioning such a fantastic piece of art to serve as their label for this beer. Definitely keeping this bottle around afterwards!

Pours a burnished orange hue into the glass with a good-sized head of frothy white bubbles. The head leaves waves of sticky lacing on the inside of the glass. The first whiff yields a nose that possesses the hoppy notes typical of pale ale style, but it is quickly followed up with a bready, almost funky sourness that is unmistakably the rye component. Pale malts also come through, lending the smell of this beer a little bit of everything.

Mild bitter kick to start things, leading into a malty base full of different flavors, including notes of caramel and toffee. Hops come through next, lending their floral and pine essences to the flavor bill. There's a subdued overall spiciness that permeates the taste as well. The rye makes another appearance as a souring yeasty quality on the back end. Alcohol isn't noticeable at all, and at 6.6% doesn't really play much into the enjoyment of the brew. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with a drying finish. The rye provides an interesting chewiness that is subtle, but present.

Another solid pale ale offering from Sierra Nevada. They really know what they do best and it shows in their brews.

Flavor: Spicy assertive hop notes up front. Earthy and leafy hop bitterness provides a good flavorful base. Some bread crust-like malt character serves as the foundation and provides a little balance. Balance is decidedly bitter but the crusty malt notes provide an interesting character that offsets all the hop character. Finish is clean and dry.

Overall impression: A nicely done, classically SN rye IPA. All I would expect from SN's version of a rye beer. Plenty hoppy with nice malt accents to keep it interesting and round out the flavor profile. Well done.